Staff & Representatives

our team

As a world leader in dancer transition, we are active participants in international conferences and research initiatives and help drive change within the dance community.

Staff

P. Megan Andrews

Executive Director

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Neetika Sharma

Director of Operations

+ Bio

Susan Kendal

Member Services Lead

+ Bio

Carola Jaque

Development and Fundraising Director

+ Bio

Giulia Tripoli

Quebec Member Services & Community Relations Associate

+ Bio

Rachel Dupéré

Membership Administrator

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Mika Manning

Engagement and Programming Coordinator

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Christina Litt Belch

Project Coordinator

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Representatives

Mika Manning

British Columbia Representative

+ Bio

Jocelyn Mah

Alberta Representative

+ Bio

Eugene “GeNie” Baffoe

Manitoba Representative

+ Bio

Sydney Ewert

Atlantic Canada Representative

+ Bio

Interns

Connor McLeary

Culture Works Canada Intern

+ Bio

Katrina Del Villar

Culture Works Canada Intern

+ Bio

A native of New York City, Joysanne Sidimus M.S.M. attended Barnard College where she studied Comparative Religion before joining the New York City Ballet. She subsequently performed as a soloist with London’s Festival Ballet and as a Principal Dancer with the Pennsylvania Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada.

After performing she taught extensively and, for the last 35 years, has been a Balanchine reptetiteur, most notably with the National Ballet of Canada and internationally. In addition to her work as a repetiteur, Ms. Sidimus is the founder of the Dancer Transition Resource Centre and was Executive Director for 20 years. She has written two books, served on numerous advisory committees and was the founding Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Artists’ Health Centre Foundation (now the Artists’ Health Alliance).

Ms. Sidimus is the recipient of many awards and honours, including the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal for making a significant contribution to the cultural life of Canada in founding the Dancer Transition Resource Centre. As well, Ms. Sidimus was a recipient of the 2006 Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Life-time Achievement.

Kristian brings to the DTRC his many years of experience leading not-for-profit arts organizations. He was the Executive Director of Canadian Artists Representation/le front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC Ontario) for nearly a decade, and previously was its Membership Coordinator. Most recently, he has been working with performing artists as Senior Projects Manager at Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. While there, he took a leading role in creating and developing the Not in OUR Space! anti-harassment campaign for live performance artists working under Equity contracts. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from McMaster University, a Master of Arts degree from the University of Leeds, a post-graduate degree in Cultural Management from Humber College and is working part-time on his PhD in Cultural Studies at Queen’s University.

“My career has been focused on helping individual artists improve their circumstances in society and working to convince decision-makers about the vital role that artists play in the world”, noted Mr. Clarke. “It has been extremely gratifying learning from my respected colleagues at Equity and CARFAC as well as the numerous organizations that I have served and continue to serve as a board member for. I hope to take that accumulated experience and, in partnership with the DTRC Board and staff, build upon the significant foundation that Amanda has laid.”

Susan Kendal is an arts administrator and textile artist who has a deep, enduring history with dance. After training at the Edmonton School of Ballet while growing up, Susan did her post-secondary training with the School of Toronto Dance Theatre‘s Professional Training Program over the turn of the millennium. She went on to work as an independent dance artist based in Toronto and Barrie, Ontario (2001-2016), choreographing, performing, and designing costumes under the moniker Pocket Alchemy. Susan taught for the Young Dancers Program at The School of TDT from 2003-2014.

As an administrator, Susan worked for The Dance Current magazine (2003-2011) in various capacities including managing editor, office manager, and writer. More recently, she worked as the core administrator for Marketing for Hippies, a Canadian ethical marketing coaching company (2014-2024).

Textile art has become Susan’s primary artistic practice since 2014-ish. Working in various mediums, she is passionate about wool (and natural fibres of all kinds!), plant dyes, traditional rug hooking, weaving, knitting, felting, and embroidery, playing between techniques regularly. Her work is featured in the book Strange Material: Storytelling Through Textiles by Leanne Prain. Her outdoor installation Pop Goes the Forest spent five months of 2022 hanging in the renowned Halliburton Sculpture Forest.

Susan lives in the small town of Deep River, Ontario on the unceded territory of the Anishinabewaki and Omàmìwininìwag (Algonquin), Williams and Robinson-Huron/Treaty 61 territory, along with her husband, two teenage sons, and one kitty.

Jon Drops Reid has worked to mobilize the dance community throughout his professional dance and administrative career. His dance work specializes in Bboy / Breaking battles, theatre, performance, production, education, curation and choreography, but Jon has also been at the frontier of animating connections between a spectrum of dance communities and arts institution’s membership, and services to support much-needed access to resources for dancers.

Jon Drops is a member of the world famous Supernaturalz Crew, Marketing & Communications Manager at the Dancer Transition Resource Centre (DTRC), and co-founder of Making Moves Creative. He has previously worked as Dance Outreach Consultant for Canadian Actors Equity Association (CAEA) for 3 years, Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), and as the Dance Director at Manifesto Festival of Arts and Culture for 7 years, Marketing Director of Back to the Underground (B2DU) as well as co-founder and co-Artistic Director of Break It Down Dance Initiatives. Collaboratively he has also produced some of the nation’s biggest urban dance events with international partners such as World of Dance Canada (WOD) as co-producer for two years, Keep on Dancing Canada (KOD) as lead producer, and many other projects that helped to grow the urban and broader dance communities since 2000.

Neetika Sharma is a GTA based Arts Manager, Kathak Dance Artist, culture and diversity advocate and active community member with a deep understanding of Canada’s not-for-profit, charity, grassroots and public funding sector especially within the performing arts industry.

With a passion for the arts, she hopes to bring positive social change and promote inclusivity in the dance industry through arts management.

A graduate of the Business Management program at the University of Toronto, Neetika has had experience working in the Arts Management field for over seven years. In addition to being DTRC’s Director of Operations, she works as General Manager for DanceWorks – Toronto’s leading presenter of Independent dance. Previously, she has worked in a managerial capacity for CaribbeanTales Media Group/CineFAM, Fall For Dance North Festival Inc. and other art organizations serving artists of diverse backgrounds and cultures. In 2019, with the support of ArtReach Toronto she launched a youth empowering choreography facilitation program Katha-Ras Dance Lab for underrepresented women dancers of colour in Toronto. The 2020 digital edition of Katha-Ras Dance Lab was supported by the Canada Council for the Arts. Her community-focused work has also been supported by the Laidlaw Foundation in the past.

Creatively, Neetika has a keen interest in exploring the various layers of the traditional Kathak repertoire and presenting them with new and relevant interpretations through research, creation and performance.

Rachel Dupéré is a trained classical pianist who grew up in the Montreal area. Passionate about classical music as well as the human being, she undertook college studies in the humanities and music to finally set her sights on piano practice. Holding a bachelor’s degree as a performer at the University of Sherbrooke, she is now pursuing her studies in piano accompaniment, more particularly ballet accompaniment, an artistic field that fascinates her and that she wishes to integrate into her career as musician. In conjunction with her studies, Rachel joined the DTRC team as a member service administrator in Quebec, while teaching piano and taking amateur ballet lessons.

Carola made her transition into the not-for-profit sector after a solid 15+year career in the Commercial Real Estate industry, in order to further expand and develop her existing passion for community outreach. She has been an advocate and strong supporter of various organizations across the Greater Toronto Area over several years, mostly focused in Youth Programing, as well as Women and Youth Empowerment movements.

Carola was most recently the Development Manager, and Strategic Partnerships with Theatre Ontario https://www.theatreontario.org/ where she was part of the organization for close to 3 years. During her time, she became a valuable supporter for the theatre community and artists across the province. She has also served as a consultant with organizations such as I Can, We Can!, Elizabeth Correia Enterprises, and Think 2wice where she was responsible for partnership acquisitions and program development.

As Development and Fundraising Director, Carola is responsible for all activities surrounding programming partnerships and sponsorships, and overall donor management.

Born and raised in Montreal, Giulia Tripoli has been dancing, choreographing and creating on local, national and international stages since 2008. Building a career based on respect for the discipline and passion for the art, dance has been her vehicle for change both in herself and in those she is fortunate enough to teach. Her unique style has become a trademark for the growth and innovation that can exist in the dance industry.

She is the founder of both Tripoli Studios Inc. and its Agency of artists. She has developed a reputation in the industry for precision, professionalism and polish. Her studio has become a Montreal staple for any dancer looking to train in an open and accepting environment.

She was a judge on panels for iDance, 5678 Showtime, Move with the Beat, RepreZent and JFK’s foundation Dancing With the Stars.

Giulia has recently embarked on a new journey with her friend and professional dancer Sarah Steben. WorkRoom 5584 Inc. is a co-creation space in Montreal that offers new and exciting opportunities for artists to create, network, engage and flourish in their own personal projects.

And now, as the newly appointed Manager of Operations for the Quebec office, Giulia is honoured to be a part of the DTRC legacy. As a national charitable organization, the Dancer Transition Resource Centre is the perfect place for Giulia to continue advocating for artists in order to create harmony and great change within the community.

P. Megan Andrews, PhD, is a dance artist and scholar, movement educator and writer/editor, working across theory and practice at various disciplinary intersections. Her artistic research queries the aesthetics of ethics through practices of movement, voice, perception and relationality, and through critical-poetic writing and dialogue. Megan’s passions are movement and communication, which manifest across her project portfolio in diverse ways.

She believes in the simplicity of listening and values emergent process. A versatile performer, Megan has worked with many contemporary/experimental choreographers throughout her career and continues to develop her own movement projects. Also an accomplished writer and journalist, she has contributed essays, reviews and reporting to print/digital platforms in Canada and internationally.

Megan began teaching in the School for Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University in 2017 after a long stint in the Dance Department at York University (2004–2017). She was a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Performance Studies at Simon Fraser University from 2017–2019 and is grateful to have received a Chalmers Arts Fellowship for 2017/18 for artistic research. Founding editor of Canadian dance magazine The Dance Current, Megan led the not-for-profit organization in various roles for 20 years and maintains an ongoing affiliation with the team. As a Certified Laban Movement Analyst, Registered Somatic Movement Educator and Therapist, and 3D Workout™ Instructor, Megan coaches private clients in somatic awareness and, under the umbrella Embodied Leadership, she works with movement for leadership development in corporate contexts. She holds a PhD in Communication and Cultural Studies.

Megan recognizes and acknowledges the unceded traditional territories of the Qayqayt First Nation and the Coast Salish peoples of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations where she lives with her husband and daughter. pmeganandrews.com

Emily Weaver, a Toronto-based queer dance artist, has been dancing for as long as she can remember. Her love of movement drew her to Toronto in 2019 to study contemporary dance and improvisational practices at York University where she obtained an Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts degree specializing in Choreography and Performance cum laude (2023). During her time at York, Emily performed in York Dances (2020, 2021, 2022), was the Assistant Stage Manager for Dance Innovations (2021) and was the sound technician for the Department of Dance Annual Showcase (2022). Emily also choreographed two original works called Home is where the heart is. (2022) and Climax (2022), awarding her The Spedding Memorial Scholarship in Dance for excellence in choreography. Emily recently started a career in arts administration working on contracts with the City of Waterloo, the Dancer Transition Resource Centre, and The Luminato Festival. Emily is thrilled to have worked with such incredible organizations making a meaningful impact on the Toronto Arts Community and is ecstatic to be continuing her work with the Dancer Transition Resource Centre in her new role as Engagement Assistant! Emily is deeply interested in discussing topics of feminist theory, gender and sexuality in her choreography while advocating for equal opportunities for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists. She aims to create safer spaces for people of all backgrounds to engage with her artistic process and to integrate this into her arts administration work as well!

Mika Manning (she/they) is a dancer, arts administrator and photographer currently residing on the unceded ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, also known as Vancouver, BC. Mika graduated with a diploma in dance from Arts Umbrella in 2016 and completed her dance training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance from 2016-2018.

In 2019, Mika returned to Vancouver to pursue a freelance career and as a part of De leeuw/Gilbert/Manning she performed and created various works in collaboration, including “i know you know” which was presented as part of the 2022-2023 VIDF Livestream series. Mika also performed as a dancer in the Company 605 production of “Future, Futures” currently streaming on CBC Gem. Her photography work has been featured in the Dance Current Magazine’s 2020 July/Aug issue and in promotional materials for Arts Umbrella Dance.

Mika has recently completed her Bachelor’s degree with distinction in art, performance and cinema studies at Simon Fraser University.

Christina Litt Belch (she/her) is a contemporary dance artist, composer, choreographer, musician, teacher, and arts administrator based in Toronto. She has trained at various renowned schools in Canada and the United States such as Alberta Ballet School and Dance Arts Institute (formerly known as The School of Toronto Dance Theatre). Christina recently graduated from York University with an Honours BFA in Dance and has been a collaborator with companies such as PulgaDance, Kaeja d’Dance, and hART dance. Christina is the founder of Litt Dance Collective, which aims to create holistic works by melding musical and choreographic research. She is known for her positivity and zest for life and strives to focus on mind and body wellness in all her practices while exploring the connectivity of music, movement, and language and the impact they have on one another.

Eugene “GeNie” Baffoe is a hip hop dancer, DJ, educator, and filmmaker from Montreal, Québec, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He has been studying hip hop culture for over a decade, teaching, performing and competing all over the world. GeNie is a high energy performer, instructor and educator dedicated to authentically delivering the culture to his community and colleagues.

Connor McLeary was born and raised in Vancouver, BC, and is currently based in Vancouver. Connor began his dance training at North Shore Academy of Dancing at age six. In his early teens, he attended Pro Arte Dance’s training program, and he trained with Beverly Bagg and Stephana Arnold. Connor later went on to attend the Arts Umbrella’s Post-Graduate Dance Program. In his second year at the Arts Umbrella Post Graduate Program, Connor was invited to join the Annex Ballet BC program under the direction of Artemis Gordon and Medhi Walerski. Connor joined Ballet Edmonton in 2022 under the direction of Wen Wei Wang, and was with the company for two seasons. Connor has had the privilege of performing works by world-renowned choreographers such as Crystal Pite, Medhi Walerski, Dorotea Saykaly, Victor Quijada, Ethan Colangelo, Shay Kuebler, Wen Wei Wang, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Sharon Eyal and Marco Goecke. Connor was also given the opportunity to create a piece on the Ballet Edmonton dancers for the 2023/24 season entitled “A Figures Edge” which premiered this past May. Connor is currently freelancing in Vancouver and is starting to explore other post-secondary programs aﬃliated with the arts.

Katrina Del Villar (she/her) is a recent graduate from Simon Fraser University with a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in Psychology and a minor in Counselling and Human Development. She worked as a faculty peer mentor and research assistant in both the Helping and Happiness Psychology Lab and the Lifelong Health and Wellness Gerontology Lab.

Katrina trained professionally in ballet at Alberta Ballet School and completed post-graduate contemporary training at Lamondance. She later danced with Modus Operandi Link and most recently joined Trek of Arts’ advanced competitive hip hop team. She has also taught children’s dance classes for the past four years within the Vancouver dance community.

Dance has deeply shaped Katrina’s identity. She understands the challenges dancers face and the DTRC’s role in supporting them. This fall, she begins her Master’s in Clinical Psychology, aiming to bridge her passions for research, mental health, and the arts.

Jocelyn Mah is a contemporary dance artist currently based in Mohkinstsis Calgary, Canada, whose practice has expanded to include puppetry, mask performance and interdisciplinary creation. Lively and collaborative, her choreography weaves exaggerated fictional characters, metaphorical imagery, and music-dance synergy into eccentric tapestries.

Jocelyn’s choreographic work has been presented across Canada as well as in the UK and Europe, at The SummerWorks Performance Festival, Dance Ontario’s Dance Weekend, Springboard’s Fluid Fest, Dance Made In Canada, EDge on Tour, ProArts at Noon, The Alberta Ballet School, The Festival of Animated Objects, Calgary Folk Music Festival, Skylines Dance Festival and Alberta Dance Theatre, among many others. As a dancer and puppeteer, Jocelyn has worked with independent artists and companies alike, leading to performances and touring throughout Canada and the UK.

She is a graduate of Dance Arts Institute (The School of Toronto Dance Theatre) and holds her Master of Arts in Contemporary Dance Performance from The London Contemporary Dance School (London, UK), with her Master’s thesis focusing on the relationship between music in dance in authentic and vernacular jazz dance choreography.

Xinyuan Liang is an Arts Management specialist student at the University of Toronto. Having grown up in both Beijing and Ottawa, she brings a cross-cultural perspective to her studies and career. Her background in piano, ballet, and figure skating sparked an appreciation for artistic collaboration across disciplines. Building on this foundation, her internships with an intellectual property firm and Visual China Group have shaped a growing interest in how legal frameworks can better support artists and cultural institutions. Xinyuan currently supports the DTRC as an Arts Administration Intern.

Mika Manning (she/they) is a dancer, arts administrator and photographer currently residing on the unceded ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, also known as Vancouver, BC. Mika graduated with a diploma in dance from Arts Umbrella in 2016 and completed her dance training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance from 2016-2018.

Mika has recently completed her Bachelor’s degree with distinction in art, performance and cinema studies at Simon Fraser University.

Cindy Miao is a second-year student at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law and alumni of the Justice, Political Philosophy, and Law program at McMaster University. Cindy has worked as a CILISAT certified interpreter and is passionate about administrative law, constitutional law, and the public sector.

Sydney Ewert is an emerging contemporary dance artist and educator from Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Having recently graduated from York University’s BFA dance program in Toronto, she is excited to be back in her home province to reconnect with the Nova Scotia dance community. Amidst her studies, she had the opportunity to perform in Canada, Portugal, and Iceland as well as had the invaluable experience of sharing her passion for dance through the lens of social inclusion with at-risk youth across Canada and beyond.

National Office

The Lynda Hamilton Centre
Suite 303
1000 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M4W 2K2

Phone: 416-595-5655

nationaloffice@dtrc.ca

Office Hours:
By Appointment Only – Please contact nationaloffice@dtrc.ca

*Wheelchair accessible

BC Office

The BC office runs as a virtual office and is open on a part-time basis, according to a variable schedule.

bcoffice@dtrc.ca

Regional Reps

British Columbia
Mika Manning
bcrep@dtrc.ca

Alberta
abrep@dtrc.ca

Manitoba
Eugene “GeNie” Baffoe
mbrep@dtrc.ca

Atlantic
Sydney Ewert
atlantic@dtrc.ca

Toll-free: 1-800-667-0851

Territory Acknowledgment

We acknowledge the lands, waterways, languages, and Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island – First Nations, Inuit and Métis – who have been living on these lands since time immemorial. As we carry out our work, digitally and in person across many distinct territories, we offer our recognition and respect to all the peoples and places that are connected through our engagement together. We, at the Dancer Transition Resource Centre, commit to the ongoing work and learning required of all of us to address past and persistent harms. We continue to deepen our understanding and we welcome dialogue as we strive to move into better relations with Indigenous peoples and with the land.